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Match details

European Cup 2nd round 1st leg

Olympic Stadium | Wednesday 7 December 1966 at 19:15 UK local time

Ajax 5 - 1 Liverpool
Half time 4–0

Starting Lineup (Average age 25.85)

1
Tommy Lawrence
2
Chris Lawler
3
Bobby Graham
4
Tommy Smith
5
Ron Yeats (c)
6
Willie Stevenson
7
Ian Callaghan
8
Roger Hunt
9
Ian St John
10
Geoff Strong
11
Peter Thompson

Substitutes

12
John Ogston

Opposition Lineup (Average age 25.56)

Gert Bals
Wim Suurbier
Theo van Duivenbode
Frits Soetekouw
Anton Pronk
Bernardus Muller
Jesaia Swart
Hendrik Groot
Johan Cruyff
Klaas Nuninga
Cornelis De Wolf

Notes

  • - Bill Shankly in his autobiography: "Ajax had the makings of a team then, but they were not yet the great team that they later became. We played them first in Amsterdam, but the match should never have started. The fog was terrible. We were due to play Manchester United at Old Trafford the following Saturday, and that was a vital game for us. We didn’t want to be delayed in Amsterdam, playing on Thursday and not returning home until the Friday. But it was not our decision to go ahead with the match. Leo Horne, the observer for UEFA, European football headquarters, was responsible for that. The referee, an Italian, said, “If we can see from goal to goal, OK. If not, no game.” Leo Horne said, “No. In Holland, if we can see from half-way line to goal, we play.”

    We were 2-0 down and Willie Stevenson and Geoff Strong started raiding. They were stung and went mad and tried to retrieve the game. So I went onto the pitch while the game was in progress and was walking about in the fog, and I said to Willie and Geoff, “Christ, this is only the first game. There’s another bloody game at Liverpool, so we don’t go and give away any more goals. Let’s get beat 2-0. We are not going too bad. Take it easy. I walked on to the pitch, talked to the players, and walked off again – and the referee never saw me!"

Other details

Manager: Bill Shankly
Opposition manager: Rinus Michels
Referee: Sbardella A (Italy)
Attendance: 55,722
Half-time score: 4 - 0
Game number: 2731
Europe game number: 22
2nd leg: Wed 14 Dec 1966 (H) 2 - 2

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Related articles

Match timeline

Liverpool
Ajax
3'
Cornelis De Wolf (0–1)
16'
Johan Cruyff (0–2)
38'
Klaas Nuninga (0–3)
42'
Klaas Nuninga (0–4)
HT 0–4
76'
Hendrik Groot (0–5)
Chris Lawler (Ian St John) (1–5)
90'
Full time 1–5

Match videos

A Tactical History of Liverpool, Episode 11
A Tactical History of Liverpool, Episode 11
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YouTube video player

Match archive

Match programme
Match programme
Match ticket
Match ticket
Opposition profile by Graeme Riley
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